The Troublesome Sensei
by sempaiko
Summary: A new team has been formed and they find out their new sensei is none other than the lazy Shikamaru Nara. They don't know what to do with their teacher and decide to find out more and try to loosen him up, which also includes getting him a girlfriend. oO
1. Too Troublesome

**The Troublesome Sensei**

A future-ficlet by Sempaiko

_Roughly ten years in the future (depending on where in the series you are) –basically making the rookie 9 about 23-24 years old. Three young Konoha Genins are assigned to a Jounin to begin their training. This sensei is none other than the lazy Nara Shikamaru himself! The students don't know what to do with this 'troublesome' sensei and decide to figure him out a little better –and maybe even loosen him up. Fun ensues! (don't get mad at the OCs –I had to make them, I'm sorry! I am usually weird about OCs.) (minor Shika X Ino eventually)._

Genins: Ryo, Ken, and Chika

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Too Troublesome**

The fifth Hokage stared into the eyes of the young pink-haired woman before her. Of course with pink hair, the young woman could be none other than Haruno Sakura.

Sakura had grown into her body in the last ten years, becoming quite a radiant woman. Her hair was slightly longer than her younger days, and almost always in a hair clip, the tresses spiked up in the back. She wore her usual dress –which consisted of a tight, black turtleneck shirt and green combat pants. Her green eyes were now smaller, but still had a youthful enthusiasm that Tsunade sometimes envied.

Tsunade had aged herself, but still showed her usual illusion of youth, minus two small streaks of white hair on either side of head. Without a blink of her eyes, she continued the staring contest she was having with her former apprentice.

She could practically feel the agitated air about Sakura, and raised a thin eyebrow as if allowing her to speak.

Sakura closed her eyes, as if accepting this silent approval to begin her rant. "I don't think this is a good idea." She said simply, and crossed her arms, backing away from her desk.

Tsunade let a smirk tug at her lips. "Is that all?" She asked, knowing full well that it wasn't.

"It's bad enough he became a Jounin in the first place. According to you, he barely made it; and only on account of his intelligence and strategy. The man is smart, I give you that, but sometimes he acts like the same 12 year old rookie we all knew too well for being lazy –calling everything too 'toublesome' to bother with. I don't think I've ever seen him in a hurry to do anything, let alone bother writing reports –which by the way he hasn't finished from his last mission..."

Tsunade gave a questioning look.

"...a month ago!" Sakura paced once about the room before coming back to her desk and slapping her hand on the surface –aiming to be gently assertive, but ending up making the scrolls on top bounce. "He's going to be in charge of three children! This is unlike any other of his responsibilities."

"He's a Jounin now Sakura. He should be able to handle it; he has one of the highest percentages for accomplished missions. He's the one that participated in the Jounin exam and was promoted; he had to have earned that for a reason. _But_ there is more to it than that."

Sakura looked a bit puzzled.

Tsunade continued on. "We all know his one weakness is his laziness. Maybe having this extra set of responsibilities will break his weakness. Children are different than paperwork."

Sakura took the words but it still wasn't quite registering in her stubborn mind. She looked away, a sudden worried expression on her face.

"What's the real reason you're upset Sakura?"

Sakura sighed and looked back at her former sensei. "I'm more worried about the three kids he's going to have as subordinates. With a teacher like him, who knows what their fate will be. I just don't want to see them hurt or injured... or worse yet..." She gave a small giggle. "...or worse yet, he'll rub off on them, and we'll end up with three more lazy ninjas."

Tsunade allowed herself to laugh along with her, but a seriousness crossed her face. "He didn't always used to be this way, you know. For a time, I wondered if the rumors about him were true –you know- his laziness."

Sakura looked away, a little bit of sadness on her face. "He only reverted after..." Sakura paused, remembering the past. "...after Asuma and _her... _were gone..." Sakura faded into a small silence. The quietness was too much for Sakura and remembering the past was a hard thing to do lately. She tried to lighten the mood. "I'm just worried for the kids. Laziness is a bad thing for the kids to be picking up on, especially from a supposed role model."

Tsunade smirked. "I didn't think of that, Sakura. Maybe I ought to talk to Naruto about it..."

Sakura smiled, then she seemed to realize something she forgot. "Gah! Sorry, I've got to go. I promised Chika I'd be there for it!" She turned and hurried to the door. Before she left she stopped and turned back to Tsunade. "Sorry about all that! I hope your plan works by the way!"

"I hope so too." Tsunade watched her leave and looked down at the current page of the squad book she had been delivered. It had all the new additions and all the new squads getting ready to be assembled.

And the page she was on held the names and faces of the ones in squad 111. The recent picture of the Jounin made her smile again. He truly did look lazy and grumpy at the world. And below him were the three youthful faces of his new squad.

She circled a long, red fingernail around the picture of the girl with the dark pink hair. Haruno Chika. If she remembered her geneology correctly, that was Sakura's younger cousin.

That was the real other reason to Sakura's rash behavior. She was worried about her cousin being taken under the wing of Konoha's laziest genius ninja...

Nara Shikamaru.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto watched his students, or now former students, line up outside the school with their parents and other guardians around them. He was proud of them. It was truly a happy, bright and sunny Konoha day. It was days like these it paid to be a leaf ninja.

There was a sudden crash and people screaming behind him. Smoke wafted from behind a bush in the school's courtyard.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. The cheerful, fox face fell into a typical 'not again' look that dripped with frustration. Did he even need to look behind him to know who it was? Gods, was he ever _this_ much of a trouble maker when he was their age?

He remembered the paint-stained faces of the Hokage Monuments.

Okay, maybe he was.

_I am deinfately going to buy Iruka ramen next time I see him_, he thought as he drifted back to the present.

Forcing his neck to turn, Naruto's gaze landed on a particularly innocent looking, charred face of one of his –he hated to say it, given his past- worst students. Well, he was considered 'worst' because of his lack of control and attention –not according to his abilities. The boy was quite good, but his wandering mind made him a trouble-maker.

"Naruto-sensei! Heh eheh, it was an accident you see. I didn't mean to."

"Ryo. What happened?" Naruto asked stiffly.

The young boy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He began to give a long winded explanation of why the smoke bombs went off prematurely and...

Naruto had always compared Ryo to being a strange mix between his old friend Sasuke and himself, actually. Ryo had dark raven-black hair, sticking up wildly with two long strands on either side of his face. His skin was a healthy tan –probably from all the time he spent outside. He had dark eyes, but they were big and full of spirit. He wore his new ninja head-piece lopsided ontop of his forehead, almost covering one of his eyes.

He was pretty much average when it came to academics, but he was exceptional with other skills –like the actual fighting and acting on instinct. His go-to attitude was going to be a must for any team. Especially because... Naruto's thoughts wandered to who was going to be Ryo's sensei from now on; and truthfully he didn't know how to feel about that.

Yeah... go-to attitudes were going to be needed big time for someone like their future teacher, at least _that_ was a give-in.

...and Ryo had apparently finished his speech and was now staring at his dazed-out sensei. "Naruto-sensei? Are you listening? You know it was an accident? You're letting me go free? Okay, see you later!" He sprinted off, leaving Naruto there, still dazed out.

Did he mention the boy could be quick-witted when he wanted to be.

Sakura walked up behind Naruto and patted him on the shoulder. "He won't be your student after today, so don't worry so much." She said and felt his shoulders slump lower.

"I'm worried about that too." He turned to look at her and she saw his face brighten up slightly at her presence. "Sakura!" He gave her a small hug and saw Chika next to her.

The young girl looked much like what Sakura did at her age, but with darker pink hair. Her long hair was tied in two tails in back of her head. Her own ninja band was tied around her forehead –tied perfectly and aligned straight. Her blue eyes were calm and yet he could tell she was agitated. She was watching the trail of smoke Ryo had left.

"I swear, whoever gets him as a team-mate is going to be sorry." She said, with her arms crossed.

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a look.

"So, how are you doing Chika? Glad to be graduated now?" Naruto asked, and the young girl looked up at him and smiled brightly.

"Of course Naruto-sensei, but then again, I won't have you for a teacher anymore. Any idea who will be our new teacher now? Or who's in my team?"

"Heheh heh, I know, but I can't tell you until this afternoon. Sorry."

"I hope I get a good Jounin for my sensei. Like Neji-sama or Kiba-sama, or even the great Lee-sama, or anyone else like that. I can't wait!" She tugged at Sakura's arm. "Do you know who I got, cousin Sakura?"

Sakura sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "I'm afraid I have to keep silent about it too."

"Aww." She pouted and pulled her along again. "C'mon, let's go back so I can show you my transformation jutsu!" Sakura was pulled along and she waved a farewell to Naruto, mouthing she would talk to him later.

He nodded and watched her go, but then spotted a boy in the quad's large tree. Naruto's face saddened. It was Ken. The boy had been sitting there the whole time of the after-graduation ceremony.

Naruto knew what it felt like –all those years ago. Then again, Ken had parents... they were just away on a mission –being both ninjas themselves.

Ken was an average student with average grades and skill. He was usually just pretty... well, bland –in Naruto's opinion. Sometimes he would forget about him in class, and suddenly he would be there, practicing with the other students, as if he popped out of nowhere.

_Well, at least he has a ninja's stealth_, Naruto thought.

He walked up to the tree and looked up at the boy's face. Ken was mid-sized, a little shorter than Ryo –who was tall for his age. Ken also had dark reddish-brown hair, tied back in a loose pony tail low to his head. He wore small, round glasses that accented his brown, narrow eyes. His forhead protector was worn around his left arm (Naruto noted was just like his parents).

Those eyes looked down on Naruto and a small smile crept on his face. "Hello Naruto-sensei."

Naruto smiled back and transferred up on the branch next to him. He sat himself down and turned to Ken and placed a rough hand on his head, giving it a nice rustle, messing up his hair-do. And even though it was all messed up, Ken just smiled and patted his messy hair back down.

"So Ken... how's it feel to be graduated?"

"It's a little scary to tell you the truth. I don't know if I'm gonna like going on missions." He replied.

"Oh c'mon! It's gonna be fun! You're gonna love it! Being a ninja is what makes the world awesome and a great place to live in. It's the best job out there –full of action, adventure, mystery, horror, romance, eh... did I leave out any more categories?"

"You sound like you're listing off movie genres." Ken said, deadpan.

"Lighten up, Kenny! Come with me," he gave a laugh, "I'll buy you some ramen." Naruto saw the boy's small smile get slightly bigger and he nodded. Naruto felt weird. Here he was buying someone _else_ ramen... well, he was going to have to get used to it, because he owed a bowl or two to Iruka already.

* * *

Naruto and Ken sat at the ramen stand slurping up hot bowls of ramen. Naruto was on his second as he observed Ken blowing on the noddles to cool them down. By now, Naruto had a pretty strong tolerance to hot foods, and his tongue was a pro at handling it.

"So, who do you think's going to be on your team?" Naruto asked, between bites.

"Well... I figure with me being so... I don't know, _ordinary_, they'll have to pair me with someone _extra_ordinary. My guess would be uh... someone like Chika –for her intelligence and Chakra control, and uhh... probably someone else like Ryo, because of his skill and... _enthusiasm_. That's my guess."

Naruto had almost choked on his ramen, but played it off as an extra loud slurp. He cleared his throat and laughed. "Wow, Ken, you're really good at guessing."

Ken blinked, staring at his teacher, who was laughing nervously. "I guess." He replied before digging back in.

He leaned in close to Ken as he finished his bowl. "I'll let you know, because you already _guessed_... that's your team. You, Ryo and Chika."

Ken went wide-eyed and his mouth hung open slightly. "Really?"

"Why the scared look, Ken, you're the only one who knows out of all the students."

"It's just that... Ryo... _does_ scare me sometimes." He said, worried.

"Scares you? How?"

"He's so... hyper. Like he's had one too many strong teas or something. Where does he get all that energy? And Chika... well, she's just a snobby bookworm that likes to yell a lot. I don't know, I'm just afraid I won't have a quiet life any more."

Naruto took all this in, and suddenly grinned wide and slapped Ken on the back. "I like your honesty! You're a truthful person, Ken." He leaned in close again and half-whispered, "And so, officially, between you me and the ramen stand –you are going to be team leader. The others may not call you that, but I believe there will come a time and place that they will need you more than they know. You just watch."

Ken blinked, a little taken aback by the title Naruto and the ramen stand had just given him.

"But what about our team's teacher? What about our future sensei- won't he choose that for us, or not let us have leaders or whatnot?" Ken asked, and emmediately saw a change in his face.

Naruto's gaze became small and he almost looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth, but was trying to hide it. "I don't think you have to worry too much about your future sensei, Ken, at least regarding choices."

* * *

Nara Shikamaru laid on the grass of his favorite hill, watching the clouds roll by. So relaxing, especially after the Jounin exams. It was tough work, and honestly he didn't figure he'd actually become a Jounin, but here he was.

Yep, here he was, a Jounin –which meant better pay (that was good), which meant harder missions (that was troublesome), which meant better living though (that was good), which meant hopefully bringing home a date (really good) without worrying about the roommate (that was very troublesome), then again when was the last time he ever brought someone home, let alone had a date _at all_?! (too troublesome... dammit!)

He suddenly remembered he _had_ had a date, and even brought someone home, but that was so long ago. It made him remember sadder days and how many people he had lost along the way. The one woman he really truly had a connection with... was gone, forever. It was years ago, he had shed his tears, and liked to think he was over it, over her, but it was hard reminding himself sometimes.

Pondering about such things was indeed giving him a headache and adding on to his thought-processes when all he should be doing at the moment was relaxing in the warm sun, watching a blue sky and white clouds.

He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to catch a late afternoon nap.

Then a shadow moved across his figure. Should he even bother opening his eyes? No, he could already sense who it was –that and the sound of crunching could be heard.

"Chouji." Shikamaru groaned. "You're in the light." He said, and without opening his eyes, felt the warmth of the sun again and a slight shift in wind as his friend sat down next to him.

A small silence passed.

"Hey, Shikamaru... don't you think you should be somewhere?" Chouji replied, and looked down at his friend, who had his arms behind his head, and his eyes still closed.

Chouji had aged, along with his friend. Shikamaru had grown taller and wiry, his features more matured and his hair longer, but still managed up into that pineapple shape he was slowly getting teased about among the other ninjas their age. It not only made him look taller, but had a tendancy to stick out in crowds –so the other ninjas had begun to name it as his trademark.

Chouji had grown a lot too, and filled nicely into his body. He was still big, but most of it was muscles and a small beer belly. He had grown a small goatee that slightly resembled his parted hair atop his head.

"Shikamaru... _somewhere_?" Chouji repeated and finally saw the small, dark eyes of Shikamaru open.

"Somewhere? I don't think so."

Chouji all but banged his head against his palm, but patience was a virtue –and he was the master by now with being friends with Shika for so long. He munched on a chip, to ease his hidden nerves, and tried again.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, people to meet, _ninja_ to train?"

Shikamaru squinted, then finally looked over at Chouji. "That's not today. I've got a whole week. I marked it on my calendar."

Chouji thought about Shika's calendar on his wall last time he was in his apartment.

"You lazy bum! You forgot to take down last years calendar again! Of course the dates are going to be off. Geeze, Shika you really need to get a girlfriend." Chouji said the last part almost as an after thought.

Shikamaru tensed, even though his mind told him not to. "What's a girlfriend have to do with calendars being a year late?" He grumbled, sitting up from the ground.

Chouji just smiled at his confused, little friend. "Just forget it and get to the school. You're a Jounin now, and that qualifies you for your own team, aren't you excited? You'll know what Asuma felt like ten years ago with us!"

Shika didn't look too enthused. "Great. Maybe I'll take up smoking like Asuma too."

"No, it'd be too troublesome for you to keep up with buying packs and having a working lighter with you. You're better off staying away from any of that stuff! Which by the way, you're being forced into said 'stuff' tonight –because I'm taking you out drink-in and bar-beque-in!"

Shika still didn't look too enthused. "Great." He said again. "But Chouji, you aren't the type to go out drinking. I know you, and you pretty much know me, and we're not the partying type." He complained, and Chouji just gave a cat-like smile. It was rare smiles like that from Chouji that always worried Shikamaru.

"That's why we're going out, Shika. We need to loosen up a bit." Chouji replied, really meaning that _Shika_ should loosen up –_a lot_.

Shikamaru didn't bother to brush the grass off his back, and watched Chouji rise next to him. He looked up at the sky, as if saying farewell. "Troublesome." He muttered, and received a slap on the back.

"Just get going." Chouji grumbled, munching on the last chip in reverie, as he watched Shika lazily head down the hill towards the academy.

* * *

Three students sat in silence, the sun actually starting to set.

Chika tapped her foot at the desk they were sitting at, in a lone classroom. Many things were bothering her. For starters...

First headache was in the form of Ryo –who was currently using pens and paperclips and staples as throwing stars, getting them stuck in the ceiling. He currently had almost an entire leaf-ninja symbol drawn out. It was just her luck to get the super annoying, hyper prodigy as her teammate. And Sakura knew about it too, and didn't even clue her in!

Second headache was currently sitting in the corner, quietly watching Ryo, looking very –ugh- ordinary. She had barely even noticed him all through school, and could barely remember his name. Geeze, what was it? Ben? No, Ken. Yeah.

Third headache was yet to arrive. Whoever their new sensei was, he was late! Where the heck was he already? Naruto hadn't stuck around even, after a three hour wait, saying that he was going to go see if he was dead or something.

Ken was the first to hear the shuffling footsteps outside the door, and his head slowly turned in that direction. Seeing this sudden movement from the stoic boy, Chika followed her gaze to the door. When a shadow appeared at the door, even Ryo stopped his 'artwork' making and glared eagerly at the door.

Their first impression of their new sensei!

The door opened.

In walked a tall, dark haired man in a green ninja vest, yawning like he had just woken up from a 24 hour sleep marathon.

All three looked a little 'stunned' to say the least.

And Ryo had the audacity to ask, "Who are you?"

"Eh?" The man simply made that noise and looked in his direction.

Ryo shook his head. "Well, you must be lost, because you look pretty confused."

The man just stared and blinked once. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm not lost. I'm here to pick up my new team. Asao Kenichi, Haruno Chika, and Jinn Ryo."

"I go by Ken, sensei." Ken spoke up, raising his hand up barely.

"Ok. Fine. Uh, I guess we should have orientation or something. So, anyway-" He was cut off.

"Wait a minute sensei! We're supposed to meet at a destined spot –a place that will become our official meeting place from here on out! Don't you understand that! You were supposed to pick a spot already!" Chika exclaimed, bolting from her desk.

The man just stared at her, looking like he wanted to run away. "Uh, how about we just make that here. It's too troublesome to look for a spot now."

Little did the kids know that that 'troublesome' was the first of many in their lives.

"Troublesome?" Ryo echoed, scrunching his nose.

"Yeah, let's just have it here. Our official meeting spot –or whatever- will be here at the school." He replied, and nodded slowly, as if agreeing with himself. "Well, anyway, I'm Nara Shikamaru, your new teacher and leader."

There was a pause that earned him three unexcited faces –not that he was surprised, he wouldn't be excited about himself either.

So far, so... _not_ so good.

"Uh, maybe you should tell me about your dreams and whatnot, and maybe a few likes and dislikes." He suggested, not that he would have actually asked those questions. Naruto had caught him as he entered the school grounds and had scolded him for being late, and gave him some pointers to get to know them better.

"Well, I'm Jinn Ryo! I dream to be a great ninja with lots of cool skills and awesome, amazing moves that will impress all the girls. That's pretty much it. Oh, I love donuts! And I love energy drinks! And I love games! And I hate being inside. And I love sports!"

Shikamaru was already a little frightened by the energetic boy. If anything, he might have been worse than what he remembered Naruto was at his age.

"Stop talking Ryo, and give us a chance too!" Chika exclaimed. She turned to her sensei. "I'm Haruno Chika, and my dream is to become a great ninja and even become Hokage one day, or at least an official. I like Konoha history books and studying, and Chakra meditations. I dislike tardiness and general aloofness."

Shikamaru all but rolled his eyes. Great. A real 'student' huh. Did kids her age really use words like 'aloof' anyway?

"A-and I'm Asao Kenichi. I go by Ken, like I said. Uh, my dream is just to be a good ninja and earn a good living and live a quiet and easy life afterwards. I like reading and sitting in trees. I don't like loud noises." He replied, and then seemed to give an accusing look to his two teammates, who missed the insinuation.

Shikamaru nodded once. Now this guy was more like it. Average by all means.

There was another silence.

"How about you Shikamaru-sensei?" Chika asked.

After getting over the initial shock of being repeatedly called sensei, he replied, "Me? Well, my dream is to live a normal life with a steady job. I like looking at the sky, and I dislike paperwork." He replied, and the kids this time were the ones to give judgement.

And their judgement was: their new sensei was _odd_.

* * *

After they split up and decided to meet the next day at noon near the gym, Shikamaru headed off to join up with Chouji at his place.

The three young ninjas huddled together when their sensei left.

"What in the hell! I think we got gypped or something. Can this guy really be a Jounin?" Ryo asked. Chika spoke up next.

"I mean, I've heard of him, or the Nara's at least. They're the big deer herders, and such. Antlers are great for healing stuff. Anyway, he's the first from the famous Rookie 9 to become a Chuunin, and he became that in less than a year from becoming a Genin. That's about all the record books say about that –and the fact he's supposed to have a really high IQ. Doesn't seem like it though."

"What do you think, Ken?" Ryo asked the silent boy.

Ken felt kind of on the spot suddenly. Suddenly a picture of Naruto and the ramen stand flashed in his mind. Leader, right? "Well, I don't know for sure. I think maybe we should find out more about him first. Get information for ourselves."

"Oh. My. Gods!" Ryo exclaimed.

Ken felt like he said something wrong.

"That's a great idea! Follow sensei! We'll definitely learn more about him tonight if we trail him! That's perfect! Let's get going!" Ryo exclaimed.

Chika grabbed Ryo's sleeve and stopped him from bolting. "Hold on, mister energy. I mean, think about it. He's still a Jounin, and they don't just make any body a Jounin. He'll definitely notice us."

"You forget who you're teamed with, girlie. I'm one of the best potential ninja prodigies in the village!" Ryo exclaimed.

"Argh, for one, don't call me girlie, and two, the word potential means just what it's supposed to; a _possibility_ for becoming a ninja prodigy!"

"Well, I have a lot of possible-ness, and I know I'm skilled, so just follow my lead."

"What is with you anyway, think you're a prodigy and all, when your grades were barely enough to get you passed!"

"I don't think being a ninja has anything to do with book smarts, it's all about skill in the field!"

"What good is skill if you don't know how to manage the Chakra right!"

"Well you-" Ryo was cut off by Ken's body seemingly appearing out of nowhere between them. "Where'd you come from? I didn't know you were still here, Ken."

"We should just follow sensei and find out more about him, and if he catches us, we'll just say we were in the neighborhood or something." Ken replied, and the two stared at him, strangely.

"He's right." Chika sighed, and started for the door. "C'mon, I think he said something about meeting his friend at his apartment."

Ryo nodded and came up next to her. "You think it's a girl -friend?"

"Pfft! I can't see him with a girlfriend." Chika replied and they walked out together, leaving poor Ken behind them.

He followed dutifully behind them, Naruto's words still in his mind. They may not see it, but they would need him. He could see why. With two hot-headed people like them, they needed a calmer person in the team.

He allowed a small smile as he followed behind them.

* * *

Shikamaru arrived at his apartment, to find Chouji waiting for him outside the door.

"Chouji. I thought you'd forget and leave me alone for the night." Shikamaru replied, as he approached his friend.

"Not a chance. C'mon!" They started to head towards the restaurant. "So, Shika, speaking of girlfriends before, when are you getting one?"

Shikamaru tried to hide his blush and glared at Chouji for a minute as they walked the quiet streets of Konoha. "We weren't speaking of them before, were we?"

"Yes, we were. And I want to know when you'll get one." Chouji urged on. He knew about his friend's loss years ago with _her_, but he also knew moping about it for years was bad. He needed to move on, meet other girls, or at least work off some stress. Not that he could see any stress on Shikamaru if he looked, but he knew he must have been 'frustrated'. "When will it be, Shikamaru?"

He just sighed and made an uncomfortable noise. "About the same time as you." He said, and he raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then shrugged it off –too troublesome to worry about.

"There are plenty of women in Konoha. Maybe ask Naruto for one of the teacher's numbers or something. Or ask Ino –she's a teacher at the ninja academy –I think fitness and health or something. I'm sure she knows plenty of pretty girls who'll go out with a newly appointed, elite Jounin."

Shikamaru hadn't heard most of that conversation, but an area of interest actually did catch his lazy ear. "Ino's a teacher at the academy? That seems like an paradox."

Chouji snorted a little. "Same can be said about Naruto too. And you for that matter."

"Huh?"

"But anyway, Ino's changed a lot since we were all together as a team... I mean, she's still loud, obnoxious and lively, but other than that... you know." He just kind of left it. Truthfully he hadn't had a good talk with his former female teammate in about a year or two. Although for Shikamaru, Chouji knew it was much longer.

"Well, if she has changed, I'd feel weird talking to her. And we never really did that much talking anyway. I don't even think I've seen her in a few years. Does she still look the same?" He asked, a little curious.

"You'll just have to see for yourself." Chouji gave a toothy grin.

Did he mention he worried about those grins? He shrugged and saw they reached the pub. They got inside and sat at a small booth by a window and the bar itself. Chouji ordered a few rounds and an order of barbeque steaks, and folded his arms, awaiting the food.

Shikamaru continued on with their last conversation. "I guess it would be convenient to ask Ino. I'll be at the school a lot, probably." He remarked plainly, almost looking pouty.

Chouji frowned. "Why's that?"

"I made that our official meeting spot."

"Your team's?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause, then Chouji raised an eyebrow. "The school?"

"Yeah."

Silence between them. Chouji then smirked. "Sounds like you, Shikamaru."

"Hrmm." Shikamaru replied simply and then watched as a round of alcohol was placed between them, along with their food –or Chouji's food, it seemed like, since he was already digging in, swinging back a bottle of bubbling, amber liquid.

Shikamaru grabbed a bottle for himself and drank from it. He had only had alcohol a few times before, and he felt the effects almost emmediately. Blinking, he took a bite of some meat, and finished off his first glass. Then he lit a cigarette and tried to relax.

"You need to quit those you know." Chouji remarked.

"Yea I know." Shikamaru replied, sighing.

* * *

Outside, the three young ninja Genins strained to hear what their sensei was talking about now. When the conversation died down, they hopped down from the windowsill and leaned in for a huddle.

"So far, our information is that 1. Sensei has no girlfriend, and probably needs one. 2. His former teammates were this guy, Chouji, and actually our former health instructor –Miss Ino. 3. Sensei just became a Jounin." Chika recited, her hand still showing three fingers. "But I think I already knew the teammates part from the history records on the so-called 'Rookie 9' or whatever."

"You forgot a number... 4. Sensei is very boring." Ryo growled, standing back from the huddle, and leaning against the wall. "He may be an 'Elite Jounin' but he sure is boring. He hasn't said much else after that second drink. He's a bad and boring teacher so far."

"I think we need more time." Ken said softly, watching a fidgety Ryo drum his hands against the wall.

"I agree. It's too early to make assumptions, even if so far our new Sensei is anything but remarkable, let alone markable at all." Chika replied, looking a little put off.

"Maybe all he needs is to get laid." Ryo scoffed, and both Chika and Ken stared at him, their mouths hanging open in shock. Ryo rolled his eyes. "Don't look so shocked, you both know it's true."

"W-we aren't supposed to talk about things like our Sensei getting '_laid_' Ryo! What is wrong with you!" Chika exclaimed, and covered her ears –although it was too late.

"It goes along with number one on the info. list, though. Sensei has no girlfriend, and needs one." Ryo retorted and Chika frowned.

"I said 'probably' needs one." She growled, and still had her ears covered. "Besides, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, we can have an inside joke going or something." Ryo said, sounding sure of himself.

"And _do_ tell me what the inside joke will be." Chika rolled her eyes, shocked to see herself amusing Ryo's crazy scheme.

"I can say something like Aid-lay –pig latin code." He smiled at his spectacular wit.

Chika was not impressed. "I'm not playing along in your little 'whatever-you-call-it' inside joke, Ryo." She replied and then peeked back in the pub quickly by hopping on the ledge and then jumping back down. She made a disgusted face. "He smokes. Intel number 5." She sighed. "I think he's on his sixth alcoholic beverage."

"I think seven now, they just ordered another round." Ken replied, and both his new teammates jumped a little.

"Dammit, Ken, where do you keep coming from?" Ryo exclaimed.

"I was here the whole time." Ken said, exasperated, but not showing it.

"Oh." Ryo raised an eyebrow, and adjusted his forehead protector, although it stayed crooked even after the adjustment.

The three then continued their surveillance until their sensei and Mr. Chouji went home, stumbing down the streets of Konoha. Same as their teacher, the three didn't get to bed until early in the morning.

* * *


	2. Struggling Strategems

**Chapter 2 – Struggling Strategems**

Shikamaru woke up with the worst headache imaginable. He felt like crap, and his eyes refused to open. _Note to self –although I may be too lazy to commit it to long-term memory- do not let Chouji convince me to go drinking again –no matter how many pretty girls will be there._

He yawned, filling his lungs with much needed oxygen. His body felt out of place. He seriously considered skipping the shower –too troublesome to take off the clothes, bathe, and then put back on the clothes.

What in the hell was that smell? His nose sniffed, and his eyes opened blurrily.

"Okay, shower... good." He groaned and winced as he sat up in bed and staggered to the bathroom.

After a good long shower, he got out, still not feeling so refreshed, and considered making something like coffee or strong tea, but was too lazy to boil the water –too much effort.

He pulled on his pants and a mesh shirt and threw on his Ninja vest, not even bothering to zip it up or even put up his hair in its typical fashion. It was still wet anyway, he'd have to do it later.

Shuffling on his sandals, he slowly opened the door, growned at the sun, and went towards the school to meet his team again.

He was supposed to have planned some kind of initiation test or something –according to the other Jounins who had teams of their own. He figured he'd just wing it –writing it down in his mind was so much easier than _actually_ writing.

When he got to the school, he felt a little disoriented, especially with his head throbbing still. Wait, where did he say he'd meet them?

He wandered the school grounds, looking a little out-of-place with his discheveled look and shoulder-length hair not combed or anything.

Someone obviously thought he was out of place, especially after an hour of wandering the school grounds looking like a ninja janitor or something.

The fiery blond teacher of the academy finally got fed up in her class and stormed across the paved court to the dark-haired man looking lost and confused.

"What are you doing, and who are you? Are you supposed to be a ninja? What's with the appearance, and the..." Ino Yamanaka trailed off when the man turned around and faced her.

He was slightly taller than her, but not by much, and even though he looked a little tousled, still managed to look attractive in a laid-back way; and why was that? She frowned as she noticed a weird look on the man's face. His small squinty black eyes seemed to glare incredulously at her.

He wore a ninja vest, so he had to be a Chuunin or a Jounin. Underneath the unkept vest was a mesh shirt that was pretty much exposing a slightly muscular build. At least his torso was pretty lean and flat, and his muscles seemed medium sized.

Who was he though? Why he was at the academy, she had no idea either. His shoulder-length hair blew stiffly in the light breeze, and she noticed he had earrings. Where did he get ones just like...

Her eyes went wide. Was that... it... Holy crap, it was... _Shikamaru_! She had just been ogling her former teammate.

Instead of a warm, friendly greeting, he received a smack on the back of the head. "Idiot!" Ino exclaimed, and watched as Shikamaru leaned back up and rubbed his head in pain.

"What in the hell was that for Ino?! I have a headache already! I- Gah!" He stopped complaining when the _almost _unknown woman gave his a big, tight hug.

Shikamaru was frozen temporarily. _C'mon, work mind, wait, are you blushing? Why? It's just Ino... whom you haven't seen in probably five years. And she's completely grown now, and filled out in various places... _

He placed his hands on her shoulders and she pulled back. Her warm smile seemed foreign, as did her face for a little while. But then he saw her for _her_ again and smiled back, getting used to the expression all over again.

Before the moment could get better, he received another smack on the back of his head.

He groaned and gripped his head, feeling like his brain was bouncing off the walls of his skull. "Ino! My head." He whined.

"That's for not coming to see me in so long, dummy! The last time I saw you was when I was moving out from my parents house, and you were helping me move! That was five years ago! We live in the same village for crying out loud."

Shikamaru closed one eye and then fixed the other on her. "Same can be said of you." He replied.

She frowned, obviously realizing she was as much at fault as he about visitations and keeping in touch. "I guess we've both been really busy. You with becoming a Jounin, and me a teacher here." Then she folded her arms, defiantly. Admitting defeat was not big with the blond, young teacher. "But you could have written or called at least!"

"Eheh." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and fought the rolling of his eyes. "You knew about me becoming a Jounin, eh?" He asked.

"Yeah. Our fathers keep in touch better than we do." She said, almost sadly. Shika barely caught it, though. Then her blue eyes hardened. "But you made me forget the real reason for smacking you. Why are you wandering around the school grounds looking like some lost homeless ninja or something?"

"Oh, I was meeting my new team here... somewhere."

"Team?" Ino thought to herself. "Well I saw Chika, Ryo and Kenichi on the roof about 2 hours ago."

"Yeah, I think that's them. Which roof?"

"I'll show you." She said, and then turned and blew a whistle. She shouted across the pavement "Do ten laps before I get back, and you all better not slack off!" there was a collective groan, but the kids began to start their run.

She led the way in front of Shikamaru, her bright hair swinging across her bare shoulders.

His thoughts wandered... _damn, why does she look so good?Why hadn't I noticed before? Was I too lazy to even think about stuff like that when we were younger? Maybe it's because my hormones have been kicking in lately. Repressing them was not a good idea... how troublesome. _

They began a trek up a flight of stairs. Her short skirt accentuated her long legs –especially from the back.

_How very troublesome..._

* * *

Chika groaned and rubbed her eyes as she sat against the railing on the roof of the gym. The long night had really taken a toll on her usual rest-cycles.

Ryo was actually still pretty much hyper, but subdued noticeably. He was still bouncing his leg, but he was also leaning against the railing, his eyes closed.

Ken stood next to them against the railing, looking ahead and thinking to himself, even though he was very tired too.

Then there was a cough from besides them, and their heads craned over to see that their sensei and their former health teacher standing there.The three had to do a double take to realize it was their sensei though, because he had his hair down.

Ino scoffed at the dumbfounded and obviously tired faces of the three kids. "Hey, what is wrong with you kids? Is this any way to greet your sensei! Or your former teacher!"

The three stood at attention, falling back to the normal routine with Miss Ino. She was a tough teacher and always demanded authority.

Ino turned to Shikamaru again, and saw his bewildered face. "You just have to yell at them a little."

"Yelling's not my thing. Strains the throat muscles." Shikamaru complained.

"Oh really, mister genius?" Ino asked sarcastically.

"Hm-mm." He grunted.

She punched him in the shoulder and gave a classic Ino-smirk. It was still the same –still confident and radiating. He never thought he'd see the day he actually would admit that Ino's cocky smiles _were_ radiating.

"Come by and see me sometime. And you know where I work now, so no excuse there." She began to walk back to the stairway. When she reached it, she spun halfway.

Shikamaru then noticed he had watched her the entire time she left his side. He blinked several times as if to clear his head –it didn't work.

"Bye!" She waved and disappeared down the stairs.

He still was staring at the empty spot where she had been moments before.

He really had missed her all these years, and that was pretty amazing come to think of it. He had usually thought of her as an annoying, loud, Sasuke-chasing fangirl. Even five years ago when he had last been in her company, she had mentioned him a few times; it was obviously still burned into her mind. But now... it was different. She didn't even mention him once.

Ryo raised an eyebrow and coughed, "Aid-lay, aid-lay."

Ken and Chika smacked him to shut him up.

"What?" He hissed in hushed tones. "Do you see the way he's still staring? I think he has a _thing_ for Miss Ino."

Chika rolled her eyes. "Well, they _were_ on the same team, Ryo, maybe he's just being nostalgic, remembering the 'good ol days' or something."

"Whose old?" Shikamaru asked the three behind them, scaring them all.

"No one!" All three said in unison.

* * *

Shikamaru laid on his back enjoying the nice day. He had been laying in this field for an hour or so and felt a little tired. Maybe he'd catch a few hours of much-needed sleep. After the rough night last night, he deserved it.

And, he had thought up a plan to keep his subordinates busy for at least that long.

He yawned loudly, and shiftly slightly, hearing the three attached bells on his belt jingle a little.

Chika, Ryo and Ken all stood in the line of trees surrounding the grassy hill where their sensei appeared to be taking a nap. Chika growled in frustration.

"Why is he just laying there still! It's been an hour already and he hasn't even moved yet." She huffed and crouched on the tree's branch where they all were.

"It's a test, maybe he's better than we thought, making us think he is asleep and then when we go to attack, he'll be ready with a super awesome move or trap!" Ryo stated, sounding a little too excited about the prospect about a 'super awesome' tactic.

"I highly doubt it." Chika said, shaking her head.

"Let's set up a joint attack! Ken can be the bait. He's good at sneaking up anyway, appearing out of nowhere." Ryo suggested.

"Thanks." Ken replied dryly.

Ryo jumped and looked to the side. "Stop doing that! You scare me sometimes. Anyway, since Ken is good at stealth, he can go down and act like he's acting on his own and grabs for the bells. When Sensei starts the surprise attack, Ken will be the victim and then me and Chika will flank him and seize the bells."

Chika blinked a few times. "Dammit." She cursed, looking pissed.

"What?" Ken asked.

"Ryo actually came up with a good plan." She said, and it only fueled Ryo's confidence –she did not mean to do it.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" He put his hands on his hips and smiled. "Alright, part one, commencing. Ken, do it."

Ken only sighed and obediently transferred as stealthily as he could to the tree nearest their Sensei. He crept as silently as he could, the other two waiting at either side, ready for the attack to begin.

Ken reached his sensei's side, and heard the fake snoring, and bent down, reaching for the bells.

With one quick swipe, he attempted to seize the bells.

_And he succeeded_.

He waited for the traps and the super awesome attack from below. A loud snore was his answer.

He frowned and then just simply began to walk back towards the tree line where they had originally formulated the plan. He hadn't even been in a battle, and he felt defeated. Had he really won?

Ken simply held out his hand and showed the other two the bells on his palm.

They stared at the silver, metal globes incredulously.

"Uhh..." Ken started, and both Chika and Ryo grinded their teeth. "...I don't think he was _pretending_ to sleep. I think he _is_ asleep."

Chika and Ryo fell to the ground, exasperated.

* * *

Shikamaru awoke to a slight pain in his side. He tried to ignore it, but is was followed by more pains, and on both sides of his torso. He cracked his eyes and were met by three more sets of eyes above him.

"Sensei's sleeping." He groaned and tried to close his eyes again.

This time he heard three sets of hands rustle in their weapons pack.

Transferring quickly, he looked down from the tree branch and saw where he used to be laying there were some kunais stuck in the ground and three very pissed off looking genins. He jumped down and landed next to them. All three turned to him, their eyes dark.

"Sensei! You were sleeping for five hours!" Chika exclaimed.

"Yeah! And what do you have to say about these!" Ryo held out the bells on his open palm.

"Hm?" Shikamaru looked at the bells in Ryo's hand. He smirked. "Those things?"

"Yes! These-" Ryo was cut off as there was an explosion and his lungs were filled with foul tasting smoke. He began to cough and faintly heard Ken and Chika coughing too.

When the smoke cleared, his eyes still stinging, he felt like his whole body was wet, and his hand burned where there _used_ to be three bells. He turned around and blearily saw Chika and Ken covered in a black ink all down their fronts. Ryo looked down and saw he was covered as well, but worse.

There was a small chuckle and the three kids looked up to their clean Sensei. "Lesson one... it's never as easy as you think it is. And... check your back pockets." He said, and all three reached in their pockets and to their shocked horror, they each fingered a round, metal bell. "Lesson two... sometimes the answer is right there in front of you, you just have to search for it."

All three stared up at their sensei, the actual words of wisdom beginning to sink in.

Ryo shook his head. "But wait, when did you get the bells in our pockets?"

Shikamaru folded his arms. "Back on the roof of the gym, you guys were talking to eachother after Ino left. I slipped in behind you without you even noticing. It was easy to slip them in while you were conversing. I had it planned from the beginning, you see. You all should have realized that I would not have left the bells out in plain view to be snatched so easily."

Ken frowned. "But, sensei, I'm pretty sure you were asleep when I got the fake ones."

"Of course I was asleep. I was tired."

"What!" Chika yelled. "So, why have the fake bells go off five hours later?"

"I was _really_ tired?"

"Ahh!" Chika exclaimed and got up, still dripping black ink, and put her hands on her hips. "Sensei... you are the best-worst sensei ever!" She screamed, still torn. That was the only logical way to describe what she was feeling. He was good, she had to admit, and had tricked them all, but... he was too much to take! "I'm going home!"

"She's right. We'll see you tomorrow Sensei. Argh." Ryo turned and followed Chika, who was already half-way down the grassy hill.

That left Ken and Shikamaru alone on the hill. Ken turned to his sensei and blinked up at him. "Thanks for practice. I _think_ I learned something today." He then walked down, following the rest of the group.

Shikamaru watched them go, and then noticed it was late in the afternoon, and his stomach growled. Hungry. All that hard ninja-training was really a toll on his body.

He followed the black stains of grass where his students had created a path down. He couldn't help but smirk. Maybe this teaching thing wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

The next few days and weeks were spent training and completing small missions that mostly involved cleaning or finding missing pets –or in one case, a missing shoe... how thrilling.

Shikamaru had just received a pretty decent mission for them to attend to, and he was looking for his group at the academy. They had said meet at the Library, but he couldn't find it for the life of him. He didn't even know the academy _had_ a library. Maybe it was new.

After searching for a half hour, Shikamaru went to the first place he thought of to get a little help. He looked at the names on a placard near the teacher offices. He went to the name of the only teacher –other than Naruto- that he knew.

He knocked on the door, and heard commotion inside. There was a faint answer and he let himself in.

She looked up, and he noticed –much to his aversion- that her new, usual attire showed off all her curves _too_ well. She wore a form fitting, blue tank top with her white, arm covers. Her blue short skirt had a thick, white belt in which her forehead protector was attached. He noticed her green chuunin vest hanging on her chair.

She frowned at his appearance, even though inside she was actually glad to see him.

She stood and crossed her arms. "A little late, don't you think? When I say come and visit me sometime, you're not supposed to show up a month later." She growled and averted her eyes from him.

"Sorry." He said simply. There was a silence.

Ino twitched and then spun her head to look at him, her hair swinging. "You never change do you?"

He scoffed. "Same can be said for you Ino. Still the pouting type." He replied walking closer to her and sitting on the edge of her desk, next to her.

She narrowed her eyes. "Some things never change." She huffed and tapped her fingers on her crossed arms. "And I'm not pouting." She still had her eyes away from him.

"Yes you are." He retorted. "I remember, you'd do it when we were younger too. That and your fits of anger... who could forget you when you were mad –especially with Sakura and Sasuke."

He received a punch in the shoulder. It wasn't a playful one either, it was rather strong.

"I was young and innocent and didn't know any better." She defended and smirked as he rubbed at his shoulder in pain.

"Innocent..." He repeated.

"Yes, innocent. All young girls that age are innocent and delicate."

"Delicate..." He repeated her words again and she growled.

"If you don't stop repeating me, I'm gonna have to really beat you." She threatened, but noticed a small grin on his face, and one on her own.

This was different from five years ago when they last were in eachother's company. He was still the same old Shikamaru, but now he was slightly different. Maybe it was just his appearance. He was definitely filled in, but still a lanky guy compared to other men his age.

For a moment, she caught herself checking him out... she _almost_ shuddered. It felt a little wrong on so many levels –and yet right on some very subterranean ones. But this was Shikamaru for crying out loud... he was still the lazy, annoying genius-ninja that he was when they were younger. But for still being a lazy genius... he was kinda cute.

Shikamaru noticed the weird silence between them and looked into Ino's dark blue eyes, the lock between them stirring something unknown in him. He didn't know what it was, and was in the midst of analyzing it in his mind when she broke eye contact and looked outside.

She turned back and frowned slightly. "What was the real reason you came here?"

"Oh, uh. I needed help finding the library." He replied, and saw a slightly hurt look in her eyes. She nodded and forced a smile, although it was hard to tell it was fake.

"I'll help you find it." She said, her voice steady.

She brushed past him in the close quarters and he held back a startled gasp as her hand landed on his knee as she stepped around him. He practically fell off the desk he was leaning against, and followed behind her, trying to desperately forget the tingling in his leg.

* * *

Ryo tapped his hand on the table in the studying section of the library, where they had told their sensei they would meet. So far, the first month had been very boring with very easy missions and other 'lazy' training where they basically studied by themselves or with eachother on occasion. He thought the sensei was supposed to teach them special and powerful moves that only he knew and wished to pass on.

Frustrated, Ryo threw down his hand and growled, causing Chika to look up angrily and throw a scroll at his head.

"Quiet idiot! This is a library!" Chika exclaimed and watched for a moment as Ryo rubbed his head. "I may not be happy about our sensei's constant tardiness either, but you don't see me slamming things around."

"Yes you did! You threw that scroll at my head!"

"Shut up! This is a library!" She hissed.

"You already said that. Besides, I hate libraries. It involves studying or _reading_." He grumbled but then suddenly noticed that Ken was sitting besides him. "When did you get back? I thought you went to the bathroom."

Ken sighed and shook his head slightly. "That was an hour ago, Ryo."

"Oh." Ryo scratched his head and then saw what Ken was reading himself. "What's that?"

Ken looked over at Ryo. "I was reading about inherited techniques and stuff. Here, take a look at our Sensei's." He passed the book to Ryo. Chika couldn't help her hunger for knowledge and leaned across the table to look too.

"Shadow Imitation... sounds super awesome." Ryo said, getting excited. "I'm gonna ask him to teach us that!"

Chika closed her eyes and hit him in the head again. "Idiot, didn't you read the title of the book? It's Inherited Techniques. He can only pass it on to his future generations... to his kids or something, his clan."

"Oh." Ryo said again. So far he was being very disappointed in his Sensei. "Then we need to do something about it!" He exclaimed, voicing his own thoughts.

"Do something about what Ryo?" Chika asked confused.

"We have to get Sensei to teach us other stuff, cool moves and stuff. We need to make him... not lazy." He said simply, and Chika just stared at him, and then brushed a few dark pink strands of hair out of her face.

"You're really an idiot sometimes Ryo. Change Sensei? If you haven't noticed over the past month, but Sensei is _very_ lazy. I don't think we can change him if we tried. He doesn't seem the type to put too much effort into things unless absolutely necessary. I mean we know he's a good ninja –heck he's a Jounin- but that doesn't mean he's not lazy with other things. Cousin Sakura's always complaining that he never does his paperwork. Even Hokage-sama even said something about it when we went in for that last mission scroll."

"So, that just proves my point that Sensei is too lazy and we need to fix it." Ryo stated.

"Say we go along with your plan Ryo... I'll indulge you... how would we go about it?" Chika asked.

"Simple. Aid-lay. We need to get Sensei laid." Ryo said matter-o-factly.

Chika covered her ears. "I didn't just hear that, stop talking Ryo!" She started to hum a little song while having her ears still covered.

"Why do you think that, Ryo?" Ken asked the dark-haired boy.

"I always hear dad saying it. He says that's the solution to all men's problems." Ryo replied. "He also says -There's nothing that a woman's charms can't do; they can fix anything."

"We're 13, we shouldn't be talking about this!" Chika said, her hands still covering her ears.

Ken blinked, thinking to himself. "So, really all we need to do is find Sensei a girlfriend and he won't be lazy?"

"Yeah." Ryo replied.

"Idiots! That's not how things work. Simply having a girlfriend won't solve someone's laziness. You can't change a personality trait like that! It's impossible!" Chika exclaimed at the two boys in front of her.

"I thought you weren't listening." Ryo sneered. She frowned and finally dropped her hands. "I want to try and see what happens. We have to do _something_."

Chika just sat there, thinking. This was a bad idea, she could already tell.

"So who are we gonna find to be his girlfriend?" Ken asked.

"Anyone. Let's make up some strategies." Ryo and Ken hunched together, and eventually Chika was too. She couldn't be left out of the group.

* * *

Shikamaru and Ino sneezed at the same time. They shared a curious glance at eachother. Ino waved her hands.

"Must be allergies." She said.

"Yeah." Shikamaru replied. He kept following Ino to the library, an uncomfortable silence passing by after the sneeze. Were things always so awkward between them? He didn't remember it being this way before.

When they arrived at the library Shikamaru noted how big it was. It must have been a new addition. It was two stories and the outside was nice and neat. The double doors were heavy wood and he watched as Ino pushed one easily and they went inside.

It smelled of wood and paper inside, and the initial foyer soon branched out to a larger interior with several sections all labeled accordingly. The opened area in the center was small with few tables and work stations and a statue of probably the one who built the library itself.

"When did they build this?" Shikamaru asked and he heard Ino make a frustrated noise.

"Where have you been for the last four years? That's when they built it, dummy. For someone who's supposed to be a genius, you sure don't do a lot of scholarly work." She grumbled as she turned to him in the middle of the dark library.

He was scratching the back of his head while looking around the large library-complex, a strange expression of uncertainty and calmness on his face. Only someone like Shikamaru could pull off such a look, Ino mused.

Her eyes softened a bit for her former teammate. He really _hadn't_ changed. She noticed it before, but for some reason he kept surprising her. He hadn't changed and yet had at the same time too. She knew all about his loss with _her_ and ever since then he hadn't been the same. She knew that was his first love, and it was hard for someone so young to lose that to something so tragic.

She tried to think of not such sad times and started to admire him a little.

He was older and definitely filled in. He obviously had gotten better skill-wise and intelligence-wise because he was a Jounin now. But even though he had become a better Ninja, he was still a little short handed when it came to current events and anything that resembled a life outside of the profession.

She wondered for a moment if he still cloud-gazed.

The way his neck was craned to look at the large ceiling of the library confirmed her suspicion. Of course he did. He _was_ Shikamaru after all.

"Did they say _where_ in the library, Shikamaru?" Ino asked him.

He looked over to her and sighed. "No. I don't think so..." He continued his gaze around his surroundings.

She felt the edge of her mouth twitch. Was she smiling at his also unchanged lazy drawl? Although his voice was slightly deeper, it still had that whining, languid twang that poked at her nerves. But the real question was –had she missed the way it poked at her nerves?

Trying to get rid of the odd things going through her, she grabbed ahold of his arm and tugged him along. "Then let's look!" She exclaimed, trying to sound exasperated.

He let her pull his arm along until they reached the aisles and she let go as they searched for his team. Why was she helping anyway? And he wished she'd stop touching him –it made him feel weird. He didn't know what it was, but it was uncomfortable in a way –foreign on his usually steady to low nerves.

They had come into physical contact when they were younger –simple little things back then- and it had no effect on him. Why was it effecting him now? He was older now, so those types of feelings should be dwindling down. Then again, he had somewhat avoided them when he was younger, and perhaps now they were coming back to bite him in the ass.

He wasn't paying attention to the woman of his current thoughts to try and rid his mind of them, so in turn he didn't notice her stop in her trek through the aisles of books and scrolls in the narrow walkways between rows.

He bumped into her from behind and automatically grabbed out to steady himself, one hand _somehow_ finding its way to her hip, and the other on a bookcase to the left. The sudden close proximity stained both with blushes unseen by the other.

He inhaled a quick breath and smelled the sweet fragrance of her hair. His mind went blank for a moment and he could feel the heat in his cheeks and the rest of his body flare up.

Trying to avoid the heated contact, he stepped back and noticed as she cocked her head slightly.

"Sorry." He said, his voice a little unsteady. "Why'd you stop?"

"I-I thought I saw them, but it wasn't... them." She said softly. She really _had_ thought she saw them, but her mind went on lock-down the moment she felt him come up to her from behind and place a strong grip on her hip.

At first she thought he was serious in his actions –something she hadn't expected and was shocked to see such boldness come from him. Then she realized he was being typical Shikamaru and not watching where he was going and had ran into her.

"Watch where you're going next time!" She jabbed her elbow back and it landed on one of his arms. He grunted from the impact but said nothing else. "Really Shikamaru, it's a miracle you've survived being a ninja all this time."

He gave a small snort as they continued on. "And I suppose it's because I'm not a part of the old team huh? I don't have you to watch over us, oh glorious leader?"

"Hmff!" She tossed her hair and because he was walking so close it hit him in the face. "You know I was a terrific leader, you just don't want to admit it. I never remember you complaining about it before."

"I complained, just not around you." He replied and couldn't help but think something strange; _am I doing this to mask the other feelings I'm starting to feel? Am I bickering with her for just that reason? It feels forced now, unlike before when we were younger._ "Troublesome," he mumbled.

Then she chuckled. He frowned as they both stopped at the end of one of the aisles. "It feels weird... arguing again." She turned her head slightly and he caught a glimpse of one of her bright blue eyes, which were half closed in a seemingly nostalgic trance.

"A little." He replied in response and she turned halfway around to face him, her eyes landing on his own. He groaned internally. Not again; they were locked in an awkward silence and they were unable to turn away from eachother.

"Sensei, we've been waiting for like 2 hours." The voice of the annoyed Ryo shattered both Shikamaru and Ino's trance.

The two turned and saw Ryo and Chika standing, cross-armed, staring at them.

"I got lost." Shikamaru replied, sticking his hands in his pockets leisurely.

"Sure." Chika said dryly, raising an eyebrow.

"Where's Ken?" Shikamaru asked, but then a voice cleared behind them, and he turned and saw Ken standing there to the side. "There you are... anyway, I've got a mission for us. We'd better get there, to the Hokage's main building, pretty soon I guess." He turned to Ino and half-smiled. "See ya... Ino."

Her heart skipped a beat for some reason at that small twitch of his lips. She couldn't help but smile back. "Bye." She held up a hand as the four turned and left the library.

After they were out of sight, she literally slapped her face with both hands on either side. "Stop acting like this! You're being an over-reacting teenager again!" She stopped and sighed to herself.

She knew she probably didn't even have a chance since he had lost the one he truly loved. How could she compete with a dead girl? Sure it had happened years ago, but could his heart really have healed since then? Plus it was Shikamaru for crying out loud!

She turned and left towards the entrance again. She had to get her mind off Nara Shikamaru... she had to... or else.

_Or else what?_ She asked herself chidingly.

* * *


End file.
